Today Is International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Enjoy! And while you're enjoying, there's a couple of things we want to ask of you.

The most important thing you can do today, of course, is talk like a pirate all day long. Amuse your friends, embarrass your kids, annoy your boss! It's all fun.

Check out the Web site. See what people have been doing all over the world and send us a (one, please, just one) photo of your party, or the gang at work, or wherever you celebrate. Include the information about who the pic is from, where it was taken, who's in it and what's going on. We'll share it with the world.

If you enjoy the day as much as we do, then give a call to your local radio station. Slappy and I have a full schedule of radio interviews today, from Perth to Ontario, Tupelo to San Jose. But we can't be everywhere at once. (It's some kinda law of physics, I guess.) So call your favorite station, especially the morning talk team, and remind 'em yerself that it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day and they should be talkin' like pirates or get off the air!

You can visit our Web site to pick up some talking points for your call.

And of course, because the holiday falls on a weekend this year, ye've got three full days to party like pirates!

Thanks to all of you for supportin' the anarchic fun that IS this international phenomena. Special thanks to Mad Sally (me wife, the best pirate partner a man could ask for) and daughter Dreadlock Alex for manning the phones at home and keeping our interview schedule on track.) Thanks to Jezebel for keeping the site updated. Thanks to the staff of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Franklin Institute here in Philly for doing everything they can to make our day work so smoothly. We're tired, but not hungry or uncomfortable.

And here's a shout out to Talderoy at Studio City Tattoo, Captain Robert "Cockroach" Blair, Bilgemunky, Jamaica Rose, Scarlett Harlott, our friends at B.O.O.M., Cap'n Bogg & Salty, the boys at Pyrate Leatherworks, The Seafair Pirates, the staff of Pirate Magazine and all the other friends we've made in this freebooter foray.

Fun at the Franklin

We're here in Philadelphia as the guests of the National Geographic Society's "Real Pirates!" exhibition, on display at the Franklin Institute. Now, a fancy museum like the Franklin might not be where you'd expect to find a couple o' ol' lopers like us, but "Real Pirates!" is a fantastic display, and no mistake. If you've any interest at all in pirates (and why would you be receiving this if you don't?) then you owe it to yourself to see it. It tells the story of the Whydah and Captain Sam Bellamy. Hundreds of artifacts brought up from the ocean tell the story of this former slave ship turned pirate ship and the crew, who were lost in a terrible storm off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717. Cannon, plates, sword hilts (the blades had been eaten by the sea) - the amazingly revealed ship's bell and one particularly poignant relic left by 9-year-old John King, the ship's cabn boy, tell a story that will stay with you a long time.

It's a traveling exhibit, so if you can't make it to Philly, there's a chance it may make it to your waters. From here it moves to Chicago's Field Museum in January. Go see it. You'll be glad you did.

And we'd like to take a moment to thank Chris Jacobs of Arts and Exhibitions International, the guy who rounded us up for this gig, took care of all the arrangements (no green M&Ms!!) and took care of us as well as our mothers might have, even better, because mom wouldn't have bought us so much beer.

Enjoy the holiday, visit the Web site to see how people all around the world are celebrating, call yer radio stations, and have fun!

- Ol' Chumbucket & Cap'n Slappy

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